Towel-holder.



G. A. STEINER.-

'TOWEL HOLDER.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT- I8. 1916..

1,256,274. Patend Feb.12,1918.

/A'VE/va/E /wr//E sse.; 655/2645 67.575055@ GEORGE ADOLPH STEINER, -oF SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH, AssiGNoR To AMERICAN LLNEN SUPPLY COMPANY, or SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH, A CORPORATION.

TOWEL-HOLDER.

- Specification of Letters Pateiit.

Patented Feb., 12, 1918.

Application led September 18, 1916. Serial No. 120,652.

of Utah, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Towel-Holders, of which'the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to provide a towel holder from which a single towel may be easily and quickly removed and withdrawn a sufficient distance from the case to permit its convenient use.

A further object is toprovide a holder which will occupy less space than usually required for devices of this kind, the towels being folded or partially rolled instead of lying fiat asusual.

A further object is lto dispense with all springs, weights and pulleys in an article of this kind, thus making it cheaper, more durable and less troublesome to the user of the towels.

Other objects of the invention will appear from the following detailed description.

The invention consists generally in various constructions and combinations, all as hereinafter described and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification,

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a tdwel holderv embodying my invention,

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional View of the same,

Fig. 3 is a sectional view showing the supporting rod for the towels in the holder.

In the drawing, 2 represents a suitable casing or cabinet, having a base 2 for the reception of the soiled towels. This base may be used or not, as preferred, the upper or cabinet part of the holder being separable from the base and held in place thereon by clip devices 2". The' cabinet has side walls 3 provided with forwardly and downwardly inclined slots or guides 4. A rod 5 is mounted to slide freely in said slots and normally rest by gravity in the` lower ends thereof. The forward portion of the cabinet has a shelf 6 extending inwardly beneath the lower ends 0f the slots and at the forward end of this shelf is a ledge or liange 7. The shelf and a portion of the wall 7 of the cabinet are hin ed at 7 to allow the shelf or ledge 7 andt e wall 7 to drop down and expose the interior of the cabinet and permit the convenient insertion of a bundle of towels therein. A latch device 8 is preferably provided for holding the hinged shelf and its connections in their normal closed position. The forward edge of the shelf is preferably recessed at 8 to receive the flexible connection that is inserted through the towels to allow the convenient removal of a towel from the bundle.

The towels, which I indicate by reference numeral 9, are preferably provided in the corners with gromets 10 and a chain 11 is threaded through these gromets at the laundry, one end of the chain having a ring l1 thereon that is too large to pass through the gromets. When a suiiicient number of towels have been strung on the chain, a lock 1:2 is placed thereon so that they cannot be removed without tearing out the gromet.

In using the device, it is intended to string the towels on a chain or other suitable Stringer at the laundry and bring them to the holder ready strung, or the towels may be sent from the laundry unstrung and used loose in the holder. In placing the towels in the casing, the door 7 is unlatched and the part of the front above the hinges is tilted downwardly and the clean towels then thrownl over the rod. The front is then closed up and latched, thus gripping the towels between the front door and the rod. The edges of the front end of the towels then rest on the shelf, while the other endsI of the towels hang in rear of the rod. If a chain or other suitable Stringer is used to fasten the towels together, the loose, free end of the Stringer may be connected to the cabinet by suitable means, such as a'spring hook or locking device.

One object of Stringing the towels together on a chain at the laundry is to prevent pilfering by janitors, or others around an ofiice building or hotel, before the towels are put in the holder, for obviously, if they are strung together through the metal gromets or holes, it will be difficult for any of them to be removed from the bundle without detection. Generally a hundred towels, that bein a convenient number to handle in the ho der, are strung on the chain or flexible Stringer and `the end ofthe chain placed in or attached to the holder, suflieient slack being provided at one end of the chain to allow the towels to be drawn ofil the pile, one at a time, and conveniently used.

rlhe personk wishing to use a towel will pull 0H the upper one of the pile, then pull it down on the stringer, and the depending portion of the stringer will allow the-towel to be held out some little distance from the casing and thereby eliminate the objection to many towel holders, where the person is obliged to insert the head into or close to the wall of the casing in order that the towel may be used on the face. Considerable space' is econcmized by folding the towels over the rod and the weight of the towels on the rod will tend to slide it forward, pressing the clean towels against the hinged ledge and down upon the shelf. This forward pressure will hold the clean towels in the I l front of the case, making them easily accessible to the user and preventing binding of the chain or Stringer on the shelf or other parts of the cabinet.

One corner of the towel and chain will be vadjacent the recesses 8 in the shelf and as the towels are fed forward automaticallythrough the weight of the bundle, the outer towel will overhang the-recess where it can be conveniently grasped and pulled out of the holder by the user. f e

As the towels are used, they will drop down into the soiled towel receptacle'beneath the cabinet, where they will be partially concealed and lying on the floor, will not exert a downward pull on the Stringer suicient to prematurely withdraw the clean towels from the cabinet. l have shown the slack end o f the Stringer lying in the bottom of the soiled towel receptacle, but it may be attached thereto, if preferred. This, however, would seem such an obvious modification that l[ cabinet and as the'towels are removed from the bundle the rod, actuated by the pressure of those supported by it, will slide forward in thc guides, automatically adjusting itself i to the' reduction in the size and weight of the bundle, and when tlie bundle is nearly exhausted, the supportingrod will be near the .lower ends of the guides bearing with sulficient pressure on the few remaining towels to hold them in place. a

A towel of fairly good size can be used in the holderwithcut requiring a cabinet which would be cumbersome and bulky in a toilet droom, as the towels `are folded in a bundle over the supporting rod instead ofdving flat v on a shelf, as usual in devices of this kind.

lFurthermore,- no followers or springs'are towels hanglng loosely within said casing,

said casing having means for contacting with the forward fold and resisting the forward movement of the towels to allow the outer one to be withdrawn from the bundle without disturbing the remzlinder.

2. A towel holder comprising a casing having guides therein, a towel support mounted to move in said guides and over which support a bundle of towels strung together onn a Flexible connection is folded, the rear fold of the towels depending within said casing and the forward fold thereof contacting with said casing and resisting movement of said support in said guides but allowing it to slide forwardly under the weight of the towels step by step, as the outer towel is removed. l 'i 3. A towel holder comprising a casing having forwardly and downwardly inclined guides therein, a rod mounted to slide in said guides and adapted to support a bundle of towels folded thereover, one fold of the towels depending within said casing and said casing having a shelf upon which the end of the other fold of the bundle is seated, the weight of the bundle sliding the rod forwardly andkeeping the towels in Contact with said `shelf as the towels are removed from the bundle.-

4. A towel holder comprising a support having guides therein and a member movable in said guides and on which the folded bundle of towels is placed, said guides being inclined and said member 'sliding therein under the weight of the towels thereon, said support having means for limiting the movement of said towels and the 'outer towel being. removable from the bundle, the remainder being held on said member through their engagement with said support.

5. A towelholder comprising a cabinet having a base for the reception of the soiled towels, a towel support mounted in the upper portion of said cabinet and over which 2a bundle of towels is hung, said support the towels being removable one at a time from the bundle and withdrawnv from the cabinet on said Stringer. v

6. A towel holder comprising a cabinet having a hinged front wall section` and a shelf carried by said wall section, said cabinet havin guides therein and a towel support slidale in said guides and on which the bundle of towels is suspended, one end of the bundle contacting with said shelf and the other depending from said cabinet in the rear of said shelf, a Stringer whereon the towels are mounted, the removal of the outer towel of the bundle allowing the remaining towels to slide forwardly in said guides to automatically feed the bundle to the point of removal from the cabinet, said hinged wall section, when opened, allowing convenient access to said towel support for placing the towels thereon.

7. A towel holder comprising a cabinet having a hinged'forward section including a horizontal shelf, an upright ledge thereon extending partially across said cabinet, said cabinet having downwardly and forwardly inclined guides above said shelf, a towel support slidable in said guides and over which a bundle of towels is placed, said hinged section, when opened, permitting the convenient insertion of the towels within the cabinet and upon said support, a Stringer end of the bundle of towels contacting with said shelf and the other end depending in said cabinet in the rear of said support.

8. Atowel holder comprising a support, a rod mounted for forward movement on said support and over which rod the bundle of towels is hung, said support having a stop for engaging the forward end of the bundle of towels, a Stringer for the towels having one end depending beneath said support, the outer towel being removable from the bundle, the remainder being held on said rod through their engagement with said stop.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this eighth day of September 1916.

GEORGE ADOLPH STEINER.

Witnesses:

O. A. KNAPP, Mrs. CHAs. S. KING. 

